DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Embry-Riddle men's basketball battled to the final horn on Saturday, but a late push from Florida Southern proved to be decisive as the Eagles dropped to 11-12 on the season with the 87-82 loss inside the ICI Center.
Jared Berry led the offensive push for ERAU with 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting; however, the Eagles' second-half rally came up just short despite outscoring the Moccasins 49-47 in the second half.
RECORDS
Embry-Riddle: 11-12 (8-8 SSC)
Florida Southern: 19-7 (11-5 SSC)
GAME NOTES
- Florida Southern leads the all-time series with a four-game winning streak against the Eagles.
- The last three meetings between the two programs have been decided by six or less points.
KEY PERFORMERS
Embry-Riddle
Florida Southern
- Amare Miller – 25 pts, 11 reb
- Jasir Tremble – 23 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Florida Southern opened with a 5-0 run, taking advantage of early miscues from Embry-Riddle.
- The Eagles answered with a 13-4 run over the next few minutes, claiming a 13-10 lead with big long-range buckets from Clarens Pierre and Berry.
- The Mocs responded by taking a 10-point lead over the Eagles with a 19-6 run mid-way through the period.
- ERAU trailed 40-33 at the break, shooting just 37.8% from the field and 45.5% from three in the first half.
- Klinger and Berry split duties offensively in the first half, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.
- Klinger shot 6-of-9 from the field while Berry highlighted with 3-of-5 shooting from three.
Second Half
- Embry-Riddle struggled to find enough momentum in the second half, trailing for the remainder of the game.
- Despite outscoring the Mocs 49-47 in the half, ERAU fell shy of a comeback as FSC managed to keep the cushion safe with timely free throws late.
- The Eagles were knocking on the door late with Logan Lewis and Berry finishing at the rim to cut the deficit to three but Florida Southern held on.
- Berry added 14 to the tally in the second half with Klinger following with eight.
- ERAU finished the half shooting 52.6% from the field, struggling to land long-distance jumpers with a 1-of-7 mark from three.
INSIDE THE STATS
- Embry-Riddle finished the game shooting 45.3% (34-of-75) from the field, 33.3% (6-of-18) from three, and 57.1% (8-of-14) from the foul line.
- Berry scored 25, adding seven rebounds and five assists.
- Klinger scored a career-high 20 points while shooting 9-of-14 from the field, adding eight rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
- ERAU edged out a 40-39 rebounding advantage and recorded seven steals on 14 FSC turnovers.
- Embry-Riddle dominated inside the paint, outscoring Florida Southern 52-38.
UP NEXT
The Eagles host No. 1-ranked Nova Southeastern on Wednesday for Senior Night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
